Death's Game (2023) K Drama Episode 3

Episode 3 of Death’s Game starts with a glimpse of the mysterious scene with the police carrying two bodies from the crime scene. Next, the viewers return to the chase scene with Lee Ju-hun showing off his incredible motorcycle riding skills and several hunters hot on his tail.

He causes major accidents in his wake and is almost at a dead end on the rooftop of a mall. His boss arrives with a gun ready to shoot him dead, and several fixers on motorcycles surround him. He decides to take a risk and rides off the roof. The worst that can happen is death, after all.

Miraculously, he survives the jump and falls into a pool. Lee Ju-hun’s phone is submerged in water, and the trackers lose the signal. 

Yee-jae thinks that with Ju-hun’s luck, he will easily survive and win the game. He drives to meet up with the woman Lee Ju-hun risked his life to save.

The woman runs into his embrace, and Yee-jae thinks Ju-hun must love the woman. She asks about the whereabouts of the money, and as soon as Yee-jae tells her, the woman shoots Lee Ju-hun dead. 

Yee-jae wakes up in our favourite location now, and Death is waiting to laugh at his face, just like all the viewers were doing. However, Yee-jae’s next thoughts throw the viewers off the rails again. He made plans as Lee Ju-hun. Only he knows where Ju-hun hid the ten billion, and Yee-jae plans to use the money to escape Death’s game.

He feels proud of himself, and a smirk forms on his face, but death easily wipes it off, sending him to his next life. 

Yee-jae is a prisoner, and his plans to find the ten billion seem impossible. Death decides to take her time giving Yee-jae his new body’s memories, and he learns from his cellmate that he is to be released in four days.

However, he is in a pickle since his cellmate is surprisingly Lee Jin-sang. His cellmates think that Jin-sang is a psychopathic killer and ask him to take care not to be killed. Yee-jae is confused as to why they think Jin-sang is as dangerous. They fight, and Jin-sang promises to ensure he does not leave the place alive. 

The orb finally arrives, and Yee-jae’s new body is Cho Tae-sang. He had decided to take the fall for a hit and run to get money, help his mother pay up a debt, and begin his MMA career with the rest of the money.

Unfortunately, during his trial, the victim of the hit-and-run dies, and he is sentenced to two years imprisonment for manslaughter. Cho Tae-sang threatened the client that he was asking for a billion won to keep quiet or he would expose him to the police once he got out. 

Yee-jae also learns about how Jin-sang uses his fake persona of a psychopath killer to scare other inmates. He decides to teach him a lesson and expose his lie. Jin-sang also starts to get bullied in prison, and Yee-jae seems to enjoy it. 

Yee-jae decides to diligently serve the next few days of Cho Tae-sang’s prison time and leave. He conveniently forgets Cho Tae-sang’s threat to his client and is reminded of it during a carpentry lesson when the other inmates turn on him, reminding him there is a person outside who will not let him leave the jailhouse alive. 

Yee-jae experiences Cho Tae-sang’s impressive fighting skills and agility as he faces up against the group of inmates all wanting him dead. He appreciates the new body and thinks back to the fact that he never did anything wrong.

After escaping death at the hands of the inmates, Yee-jae goes through a heart-to-heart talk with his prison friend Kim Ji-young, who asks if he ever regrets getting himself in prison. Yee-jae’s mind thinks beyond his current situation as Tae-sang, and he regrets taking life for granted and envies Kim Ji-young, who still has a chance to live a better life.

Later that night, Jin-sang contemplates killing Tae-sang, who finds him in the washroom sharpening a killing tool. Yee-jae is disappointed that Jin-sang’s instincts still choose to kill when faced with unfavourable situations. He contemplates killing him, but the thought of Ju-hun’s ten billion stops him.

Yee-jae takes a different approach and pretends he can talk to the dead. He tells Jin-sang what happened between him and Hyeok-su to make him believe and asks if Jin-sang is sorry for what he did to Hyeok-su.

Jin-sang still blames Hyeok-su for his predicament and ends up in juvenile detention. On the day of his release, he wishes that Jin-sang could live well and not destroy his life as he did.

Once outside the juvenile detention, the attorney waits for him with the one billion won Tae-sang had requested. Yee-jae turns down the offer and promises to keep what happened between them a secret. He leaves for the beach in search of the ten billion hidden by Lee Ju-hun, and he easily finds it.

Yee-jae finds himself in another impossible situation, unaware of what to do with all the money. He decides to stop overthinking and take a nap instead. He sees his mother in his dream but is soon awakened by Tae-sang’s phone ringing.

The phone call is from Tae-sang’s mother, which reminds him of ignoring his mother’s phone call before jumping to his death. Talking to Tae-sang’s mother reminds Yee-jae of his mother, and he cries. 

Yee-jae decides to meet with Tae-sang’s mother and give her a share of the ten billion won. He leaves the rest at a storage locker, confident that he will return as soon as possible to take it and ignoring the four-day warning after which his items will be confiscated. 

Since he left the prison, someone seems to be following Tae-sang, but Yee-jae is oblivious to the situation. The person lurking in the darkness jumps Tae-sang while Yee-jae meets Tae-sang’s mother. Yee-jae had forgotten about the crime the person Tae-sang took the fall for had committed, but Lee Su-yeon’s father has been waiting to get his revenge. 

Yee-jae apologises to Lee Su-yeon’s father and tells him that he is not responsible for his daughter’s death. Footsteps are heard running to their location, making Su-yeon’s father run from the scene.

Yee-jae is relieved to see that the person who arrives in his prison is Tae-sang’s friend Kim Ji-young. In another unexpected twist, Ji-young is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is among the inmates promised to get a hefty sum after killing Tae-sang, and he has come to finish what he missed in prison. 

Ji-young regrets ending up in prison, not because of the crime he committed but because he was not able to cover his tracks well enough to avoid jail time. He regrets being caught and, therefore, comes up with a perfect plan to kill Tae-sang and ensure he is not caught again. Yee-jae says he will pay him to spare Tae-sang, but Ji-young does not believe Tae-sang has money.

He stabs Tae-sang several times and runs away excited to get the 100 million payment. Yee-jae dies an emotional death, bleeding to his death as he tries to reach out to the phone ringing on the floor with “MOM” flashing on the screen.

As usual, he woke up at hell’s gates, ready to talk with Death. He forgets about the victims, and Death reminds him that he is a selfish prick who does not care about the sadness of the bereaved family.

While Death tries to teach him a lesson, Yee-jae thinks about getting the money in the locker and asks her to send him to his next life quickly. Death grants his wish but, with a smirk, sends Yee-jae into his next life as an infant. 

The Episode Review

Is it, not a pity that Lee Ju-hun could escape the most dangerous possible death situation just to be easily shot down by the woman he thought he was saving?

The episodes continue to treat viewers to unexpected situations beyond their imaginations, proving that we cannot predict what will happen next. Just like Yee-jae did in Tae-sang’s body, the audience also forgot about the crime he went to jail for looting for him to manage to survive finally.

Death never forgets, though, and the sadness of the bereaved lives on even after years. Yee-jae becomes evil and selfish, only thinking about his survival and money. The contradiction between Yee-jae’s thinking in his body and in the bodies of the people his soul takes adds a layer of excitement to waiting to see which body Death sends him into next.

Another unexpected twist happens at the end of the episode, proving that Death’s Game is an unpredictable masterpiece that will keep viewers at the edge of their seats throughout the episodes.

There is no chance for relaxation, but remember to empty your mind of any theories as you watch each new episode of Death’s Game. How will Yee-jae survive in the body of an infant who can neither talk nor walk? Are you as excited as I am about the next episode?